Pumped Shower Apparatus

ABSTRACT

Pumped shower apparatus ( 10 ) comprises a shower head ( 14 ) for discharging shower water, a showering surface ( 16 ) below the shower head ( 14 ), a drain unit ( 18 ) at the showering surface ( 16 ) for receiving runoff shower water, a pump ( 20 ) for moving water from the drain unit ( 18 ) to a drain ( 22 ), and water-noise monitoring and control apparatus for optimising the speed of the pump ( 20 ) whilst eliminating or reducing water noise from, at or adjacent to the drain unit ( 18 ). The water-noise monitoring and control apparatus includes water-noise monitoring means ( 24, 48 ) for monitoring water noise from, at or adjacent to a drain unit ( 18 ) of the shower installation, and a controller ( 26 ) for automatically controlling a pump ( 20 ) of the shower installation based on an output of the water-noise monitoring means ( 24, 48 ).

The present invention relates to pumped shower apparatus, and to suction-noise monitoring and control apparatus for such shower apparatus.

Pumped shower installations are well known and typically utilise water flow detection devices for detecting and controlling a pumping rate of the associated electrically operated waste water pump. The water flow detection devices are flow sensors which detect the presence of water and the flow rate either at the shower head or at the drain. The pump is then controlled in order to move the runoff water to the drain at a suitable rate which is high enough to prevent flooding of the showering surface but which is not high enough to entrain air causing undesirable slurping, gurgling and sucking noises.

It has been found that obtaining the optimum flow rate using such flow sensors is problematic, and can require multiple sensors at various points on the flow path to ensure accuracy of operation thus increasing cost and complexity.

The present invention seeks to provide a solution to these problems.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided water-noise monitoring and control apparatus for pumped shower apparatus, the water-noise monitoring and control apparatus comprising water-noise monitoring means for monitoring suction noise from, at or adjacent to a drain of the shower installation, and a controller for automatically controlling a pump of the shower installation based on an output of the water-noise monitoring means.

Preferable and/or optional features of the first aspect of the invention are set forth in claims 2 to 15, inclusive.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided pumped shower apparatus comprising a shower head for discharging shower water, a showering surface below the shower head, a drain unit at the showering surface for receiving runoff shower water, a pump for moving water from the drain unit to a drain, and water-noise monitoring and control apparatus in accordance with the first aspect of the invention for optimising the speed of the pump whilst eliminating or reducing water noise from, at or adjacent to the drain unit.

Preferable and/or optional features of the second aspect of the invention are set forth in claim 18 and claim 19.

The present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic side view of one embodiment of pumped shower apparatus, in accordance with the second aspect of the invention, incorporating suction-noise monitoring and control apparatus in accordance with the first aspect of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a generalised block diagram of the pumped shower apparatus, shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown one embodiment of pumped shower apparatus 10 which comprises a shower water control unit 12, which may be, for example, an electric shower water heater, a shower head 14 which is in liquid communication with the control unit 12, and a showering surface 16 such as a shower tray or water-resistant floor covering surface. A drain unit 18 is provided beneath the showering surface 16 and into which runoff shower water enters. An electric pump 20 is provided downstream of the drain unit 18 for moving the runoff shower water from the drain unit 18 to a drain 22.

The pump 20 is provided to supplement or in substitution of gravity. This can often occur when the shower apparatus 10 is being newly installed in an existing room which does not provide an adequate fall for runoff to a drain. It also frequently occurs in a showering area in which a water-resistant floor covering material is being laid on a former provided within the depth of a standard floor joist.

Suction-noise monitoring means 24 is also provided along with a controller 26 for automatically controlling the pump 20 based on an output of the suction-noise monitoring means 24.

The monitoring means 24 includes an acoustic sensor 28 and/or a vibrational sensor 30. The or each sensor 28, 30 may be positioned at the control unit 12, at or adjacent to the showering surface 16, such as on or in a wall of the showering area, and/or at or adjacent to the drain unit 18. The acoustic sensor 28 and the vibrational sensor 30 detect sounds or vibrations of the in use pumped shower apparatus 10, and output signal data to an analysis circuit 32 of the controller 26.

The controller 26 includes a microprocessor 34 and a memory storage device 36 having pre-set and pre-stored data relating to noise generated by the suction of water from the drain unit 18 and/or from the impact of water droplets onto the showering surface 16. The sound generated by the cavitation and mixing of water and air at the shower drain point is of different frequency and sound pressure envelope to that created by the impact of water droplets on the showering surface 16, water droplets onto water puddles forming on the showering surface 16 or speech by the user and other noises associated with showering. A comparator 38 provided as part of the analysis circuit 32 compares the data outputted by the acoustic sensor 28 and/or vibrational sensor 30 with the pre-stored data. If the sensor data falls within the parameters of the pre-stored data, then it is determined that suction noise is present, and a control circuit 40 controls a local pump controller 42 at the pump 20 to decrease the pumping rate accordingly.

Conversely, if the sensor data falls outside of the parameters of the pre-stored suction noise data, then it is determined that suction noise is not present, and the control circuit 40 controls the local pump controller 42 at the pump 20 to increase the pumping rate accordingly.

By use of feedback control, the or each sensor 28, 30 can provide data to the comparator 38 at periodic intervals, enabling the control circuit 40 to automatically optimise the speed of the pump 20, utilising noise outputs compared with reference information held in the memory 36 in opposing control modes to increase or decrease the pump speed.

Preferably, the comparator 38 includes a Fourier analysis device, such as a Fast Fourier Transform module 44 allowing the algorithmic computation of the Fourier transform from the set of discrete data values provided by the or each sensor 28, 30. The component frequencies of the data received from the sensor(s) 28, 30 can then be compared with those of the pre-stored data to determine whether the pump 20 is operating optimally, and pump control signals are outputted from the control circuit 40 accordingly.

Fuzzy logic may also conveniently be employed as part of the comparator 38 in an effort to match sensor data with the pre-stored data in light of extraneous noise and vibration, such as from a user and ambient noise from the surrounding environment, picked up by the or each sensor 28, 30.

The controller 26 also includes a learning circuit 46 for a user to input a specific pump control based on suction noise. Conveniently, this is activated by a user interface, such as a button, which may be provided, for example, on the control unit 12 of the shower apparatus 10. The learning circuit 46 includes a recorder for recording and storing user-specified data via the sensor(s) 28, 30 of the suction-noise monitoring means. The data of this preferred pumping condition is analysed and stored in the memory storage device 36 via the learning circuit 46, and via a logic controller may then take precedence over the default pre-stored data. In this way, the controller 26 can be programmed to automatically control the pump 20 so as to meet a specific requirement which best suits or is optimal for a particular user or installation.

If the pump 20 is not controlled sufficiently to remove excess water, then pooling may occur on the showering surface 16 leading to flooding in extreme cases. To provide for this eventuality, water-pooling monitoring means 48 is provided in the form of pre-stored data relating to pooling and/or spay falling on water. On the sensed data meeting these parameters in the comparator 38, the control circuit 40 controls the pump 20 to operate at its maximum pumping rate irrespective of suction noise and/or vibration. Once the sensed condition is alleviated by the sensed data falling outside the parameters of the pre-stored data, the controller 26 reverts to its normal control condition.

The water-pooling monitoring means 48 may utilise the existing sensor(s) 28, 30, or may use a further sensor 50 which may be dedicated to monitoring pooling and/or potential flooding. It may be for example, an acoustic sensor and/or a vibrational sensor. In the latter case, this would be beneficial in case of failure of the sensor(s) 28, 30 of the suction-noise monitoring means 24.

It is advantageous to provide the suction-noise monitoring means 24 and controller 26 as an integrated part of the pumped shower apparatus 10, thus simplifying installation. However, it can be provided as separate suction-noise monitoring and control apparatus 52 which may be supplied as a kit of parts and/or which may be retro-fittable to an existing shower installation. In such an installation the interface would preferably be a pulsed signal generated from the controller 26 to the existing local pump controller 42 in the form impersonating a typical two- or three-wire flow-rate sensor signal as used in current installations. The suction noise monitoring apparatus so described would then be retrofitted in place of an existing flow meter or sensor and simply adapted into the installation.

The term ‘water-noise monitoring means’ used throughout is intended to include the suction-noise monitoring means and the water-pooling monitoring means.

One or more further acoustic and/or vibrational sensors can be provided at any position on the shower installation and/or along the drain.

Although one or more flow sensors may be utilised, these are not essential for controlling a pumping speed of the pump, and may for example be utilised to activate and deactivate the pump.

It is feasible that the suction-noise monitoring means can be dispensed with in favour of only providing the water-pooling monitoring means, and vice versa. This can be beneficial in some cases, such as to supplement rather than substitute water detection elements of an existing pumped drainage shower installation.

It is thus possible to provide pumped shower apparatus which monitors water noise, such as suction noise, including slurping noise, at or emanating from the drain, including the drain unit, and water-puddling or water pooling noise at or on the showering surface, usually within the vicinity of the drain or drain unit, and which then controls a pumping rate accordingly to reduce or eliminate the noise but to maintain a suitable flow rate of waste water. It is further possible to provide water-noise monitoring and control apparatus which reduces or eliminates suction noise, including slurping noise, at or emanating from a drain, including a drain unit, of a pumped shower installation and/or water pooling at or on a showering surface, usually within the vicinity of the drain or drain unit.

The embodiments described above are provided by way of examples only, and various other modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus for pumped shower apparatus, the water-noise monitoring and control apparatus comprising a water-noise monitoring element to monitor water noise from, at or adjacent to a drain of a shower installation, and a controller which automatically controls a pump of the shower installation based on an output of the water-noise monitoring element.
 2. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the water-noise monitoring element comprises an acoustic sensor positionable at or adjacent to the pumped shower installation.
 3. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the water-noise monitoring element comprises a vibrational sensor positionable at or adjacent to the pumped shower installation.
 4. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller includes an analysis circuit whereby an output of the water-noise monitoring element is comparable with pre-stored data to determine a level of water noise.
 5. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the analysis circuit includes a Fast Fourier Transform module.
 6. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the analysis circuit includes fuzzy logic.
 7. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller includes a learning circuit whereby a user inputs a specific pump control based on water noise.
 8. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claim 7, the learning circuit including a recorder whereby user-specified data is recordable and storable via the water-noise monitoring element.
 9. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the learning circuit includes a logic controller whereby inputted user-specified data takes precedence over default pre-stored data of the analysis circuit.
 10. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller includes feedback control via the water-noise monitoring element, whereby the in use pump is automatically controlled to operate at an optimum or substantially optimum speed.
 11. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claims 1, wherein the water-noise monitoring includes a suction-noise monitoring element, whereby suction noise from the drain of the shower installation is monitorable.
 12. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the water-noise monitoring element includes a water-pooling monitoring element, so that noise from pooling of water on a showering surface at or adjacent to the drain is monitorable.
 13. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the water-pooling monitoring element includes an acoustic sensor, so that pooling based on sound is monitorable.
 14. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the water-pooling monitoring element includes a vibrational sensor, so that pooling based on vibration is monitorable.
 15. Water-noise monitoring and control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, which is in the form of a kit of parts.
 16. (canceled)
 17. Pumped shower apparatus comprising a shower head for discharging shower water, a showering surface below the shower head, a drain unit at the showering surface for receiving runoff shower water, a pump for moving water from the drain unit to a drain, and water-noise monitoring and control apparatus comprising a water-noise monitoring element to monitor water noise from, at or adjacent to the said drain unit and a controller which automatically controls the pump based on an output of the water-noise monitoring element, whereby the speed of the pump is optimisable by the controller whilst water noise from, at or adjacent to the drain unit is eliminated or reduced.
 18. Pumped shower apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the water-noise monitoring element is positioned at at least one of a shower control unit of the shower head, at or adjacent to the showering surface, and at or adjacent to the drain unit.
 19. Pumped shower apparatus as claimed in claim 17, which is in the form of a kit of parts.
 20. (canceled) 